Plans

View Construction Plans (PDF) for building a worm bin for your home using Rubbermaid Roughneck 10 gallon plastic containers.

For clarification:

There is one base container and one or two upper processing containers.

The base container has holes drilled around the upper sides but not in the bottom. The base needs to catch and hold moisture but it also needs to allow air circulation.

The upper processing container(s) have holes in the bottom but not around the sides. The upper containers are the ones that actually hold the composting food and worms. They need to drain excess moisture and, when two processing containers are used, the worms will move to the topmost container through the holes in the bottom.

The lid assembly is the complicated part. The intent is to create path for air circulation while blocking light. Worms like air but not direct light. You can eliminate the screen but this will make the bin more accessible to insects. If you do eliminate the screen then you can just separate the two lids with a piece of wood that is 1.5 to 2 inches thick. Use screws with flat washers, or the even bigger fender washers, to attach the lids to the block of wood. The gap between the two lids is important for air circulation.

I used the 1x2 lath material on both sides of the plastic because if you just place screws into the plastic it will eventually tear the plastic.

The instructions show where to place the screws so they are offset on each layer of the lid assembly.